"Patriots are not revolutionaries trying to overthrow the government of the United States.
Patriots are Counter-Revolutionaries trying to prevent the government from overthrowing the Constitution."
The Coach’s Team (TCT) offers the best in conservative essays along with articles taken from various internet sites. The victory of Donald Trump has provided a God-sent opportunity to reverse the years of willful damage done our nation by Barack Hussein Obama.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

"Federal judge rules Obamacare is being funded unconstitutionally"

The following article has been taken from the May 12th issue of the Los Angeles Times. Although "The Coach's Team" rarely posts anything but original pieces by its own staff, I believe this information is important enough to be re-posted in its entirety for our readers.Please take note of the emphasized phrase below which makes it clear that, although the Obama Regime via the Department of Health and Human Services is in clear violation of the Constitution, the judge's ruling which correctly declares this to be the case "stands a good chance of being overturned on appeal." The reason? The D.C. Court of Appeals has been packed with liberal judges, nominated by Obama and approved by Senate Republicans.

By David G. Savage

House Republicans won Round 2 in
a potentially historic lawsuit Thursday when a federal judge declared the Obama
administration was unconstitutionally spending money to subsidize health
insurers without obtaining an appropriation from Congress.

Last year, U.S. District Court Judge
Rosemary Collyer broke new ground by ruling the GOP-controlled House of Representatives
had legal standing to sue the president over how he was enforcing his signature
healthcare law.

On Thursday, she ruled the
administration is violating a provision of the law by paying promised
reimbursements to health insurers who provide coverage at reduced costs to
low-income Americans.

The judge's ruling, while a setback
for the administration, was put on hold immediately and stands a good chance of being overturned on appeal. (Emphasis by
The Coach’s Team)

But the 38-page opinion highlights the
repeated complaint from Republicans that Obama and his administration have
ignored constitutional limits on their authority.

The Constitution says "No Money
shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by
Law," Collyer noted, but the administration has continued to pay billions
to insurers for their extra cost of providing health coverage.

"Paying [those] reimbursements
without an appropriation thus violates the Constitution," she wrote.
"Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public
money can be spent without one."

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the
ruling “a historic win for the Constitution and the American people. The court
ruled that the administration overreached by spending taxpayer money without
approval from the people’s representatives.”

White House Press Secretary Josh
Earnest said the administration remained confident it will prevail in the end.

“This suit represents the first time
in our nation’s history that Congress has been permitted to sue the executive
branch over a disagreement about how to interpret a statute,” he told
reporters. “It’s unfortunate that Republicans have resorted to a
taxpayer-funded lawsuit to re-fight a political fight that they keep losing."

Two years ago, House Republicans sued
Obama under then-Speaker John Boehner and claimed the president had violated
the law by delaying enforcement of several provisions of the Affordable Care
Act.

But lawyers later focused on the
reimbursements for health insurers that had received little attention before.
They said these payments would come to $175 billion over a decade.

The healthcare law says insurers who
enroll eligible, low-income Americans shall cover the costs of their deductibles
and co-payments, but promises the federal government “shall make periodic and
timely payments” to cover those costs.

The law is not entirely clear on where
this money will come from, however.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest
says the administration has not yet decided whether to appeal a new court
ruling challenging the so-called Obamacare health plan.

At first, the administration asked
Congress for an appropriation to cover these costs.

But when that request went nowhere in
Congress, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said they
could continue to pay these required reimbursements.

They said payments were like “other
appropriate entitlements like Medicaid” that are covered by permanent federal
funds and not subject to an annual appropriation.

Judge Collyer called that claim a
“most curious and convoluted argument whose mother was undoubtedly necessity.”

Collyer, an appointee of
President George W. Bush, said she would block “any further
reimbursements…until a valid appropriation is in place,” but then put her
order on hold while the administration appeals.

The case of House of Representatives
v. Burwell will move to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia,
where Democratic appointees have a solid majority.

Obama’s lawyers will likely renew
their argument that this lawsuit should be thrown out because lawmakers do not
have standing to sue the executive branch.

In the past, the Supreme Court
has tossed out suits from senators who objected to how the administration was
interpreting the law.

But a ruling may not come until after
Obama leaves office next January.